Choi, Zingler lead strong showing

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director
Sofia Choi shoots 71 and Kaitlin Zingler 78 to lead the Mustangs to 3rd place in 4A girls golf; Choi is 2nd, Zingler 7th; future looks bright for program.
 
AURORA – It was a terrific turnaround, the performances were rewarding and the future appears bright.

Mullen girls finished third as a team on Tuesday in the second and final round of Colorado’s Class 4A Tournament, held at a toasty CommonGround Golf Course. The Mustangs also had two top-10 placers – Sofia Choi shot one of only three sub-par rounds over the two days to finish runner-up and Kaitlin Zingler ended strongly for seventh. Plus, both converted eagles.

It wasn’t as if the Mustangs were horrid after the opening round. Hardly. They remained in position to contend. It’s just that their aspirations were higher and they had to accept their learning experience on a tough Monday for a group of four players who had all of one round of state-tournament exposure. And they improved basically across the board to end the odd, late Season D during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic 2020-21 school year.

“Absolutely, the girls really did phenomenal today.” Mustangs head coach Kate Walker said. “I just had a feeling because they were playing well late in the season. (Monday) was a little bit of a hiccup. But having the monkey off their backs … I was OK with our position. I knew they could excel and if they all played their own games, I knew we would be OK.”

Beginning with Choi, who was runner-up in 2019 (there was only one round as the second was snowed out; and there was no season in 2020), she shaved eight strokes off her Monday total for a 1-under-par 71. It was highlighted by an eagle on No. 18., dropping the putt from the back apron to the middle of the green.

“My putting was pretty good today,” she said.

She may have made the medalist chase a bit more interesting if not for a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 5 on Monday.

“Yeah,” she said, “I had the one hole that threw me off. It wasn’t too terrible … the rest of the round I played all right. And then today was a lot better. I was just trying to score and push.”

No one could catcher winner Jessica Mason of Holy Family, who shot 69-71—140 for a 4-under total, but Choi turned in 36-35 for 150 total with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 to grab second by to shots. Her eagle on No. 18 allowed her to play the final seven holes in 2-iunder.

Zingler, a sophomore upset with her putting on Monday, gathered herself and turned in 39-39. She overcame a triple bogey to open her day, but eagled the 513-yard No. 7. She had another eagle chance on her final hole before opting to chip just off the green and missing her birdie to settle for a par 5.

“This is my first state championship, so I didn’t have the best two days,” she said. “So it was a learning experience. I had a couple of wrinkles and bounced back.”

In accepting the grind, she said she was “just taking it hole-by-hole and not thinking too much about my overall score.”

An effort of 80-78 – 158 was welcomed.

In fact, Walker said, this was “the best we’ve done” since 2005, when assistant coach Ashley Tait-Wengert capped a five-year title run for the Mustangs with her third medalist showing, one of only three in-state schoolgirls to win three times.

Junior Hannah Giacomin interrupted her family trip to Maine to total 218 and senior Elle Deorio shot 235.

“How often do you see two eagles in the same day?” a pleased Walker asked. “In these conditions and for Sofia to finish like that ... it’s exciting.”

As well, after Zingler opened with her seven, Walker said her resilience was key as “I think Kaitlin blinked a bit, but she was able to get back on track and that was huge.”

Choi added: “This was good for us. It was a nice comeback (from no season) last year.”

And Mullen girls golf appears to be in good shape.

“This bodes well for us,” Walker said. “This was a really good day for us. Third place is a satisfying showing.”
 
CLASS 4A TOURNAMENT

At CommonGround G.C., Aurora

Second Round

Tuesday

Par 36-35--72

Top team scores – Discovery Canyon 485, Windsor 519, Mullen 526, Cheyenne Mountain 528.

Medalist -- Jessica Mason, Holy Family, 69-71--140.

Mullen scores – Sofia Choi 79-71--150, Kaitlin Zingler 80-78--158, Hannah Giacomin 113-105--218, Elle Deorio 116-119—235.
 
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